Arrangement in seating furniture or seats for attaching seat and back supporting elements

ABSTRACT

In a seating furniture or seat each opposite marginal portion of a flexible seat or back supporting element is secured to a ledge having a groove diverging outwardly in relation to the longitudinal middle plane of the piece of furniture and seat, respectively, said ledge being detachably mounted in and complementary to a recess in the frame of the furniture or seat, respectively.

nited States Patent [191 Borggren et al.

ARRANGEMENT IN SEATING FURNITURE 0R SEATS FOR ATTACHING SEAT AND BACK SUPPORTING ELEMENTS Inventors: Kjell Christian Borggren,

Johannesbergsgatan 30, 703 60 Orebro; Nils Erik Soderstrom, Porla Grand 48, 702 28 Orebro, both of Sweden Filed: Feb. 8, 1973 Appl. No.: 330,525

Foreign Application Priority Data Mar. 14, 1972 Sweden 3230/72 us. cl 297/445, 297/441, 297/457 Int. Cl A47c 7/00, A471: 7/02 Field of Search 297/440, 441, 444, 445,

[ Oct. 29, 1974 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,041,109 6/1962 Eames et a1. 297/449 3,348,882 10/1'967 Chassaignac..... 3,601,446 8/1971 Persson et al 297/457 Primary Examiner-Casmir A. Nunberg Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Ladas, Parry, Von Gehr, Goldsmith & Deschamps [5 7 ABSTRACT In a seating furniture or seat each opposite marginal portion of a flexible seat or back supporting element is secured to a ledge having a groove diverging outwardly in relation to the longitudinal middle plane of the piece of furniture and seat, respectively, said ledge being detachably mounted in and complementary to a recess in the frame of the furniture or seat, respectively.

9 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures ARRANGEMENT IN SEATING FURNITURE OR SEATS FOR ATTACI-IING SEAT AND BACK SUPPORTING ELEMENTS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to seating furnitures and seats, such as in motor-vehicles, and more exactly to an improved means for attaching seat and back supporting elements of flexible material, such as one or more layers of fabric. The object of the invention is to provide a safe and strong attaching device which will considerably facilitate assembling and disassembling of the seat and back supporting elements, among other things in order to facilitate their cleaning.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to an arrangement in seating furniture or seats, for instance in motor vehicles, for attaching seat or back supporting elements of flexible material, e.g. in the form of one or more fabric layers, wherein said furniture or seat comprises two frame or rail members forming opposite side portions of said seating furniture or seat, at least one recess in each of said frame or rail members, said recesses extending at least partially in the longitudinal direction of said frame and rail members and opening into one of two opposite sides thereof, a complementary ledge member detachably introduced into each of said recesses, a groove in said ledge and extending in the longitudinal direction thereof in a plan diverging outwardly from the middle plane of said seating furniture or seat, and a marginal portion of a flexible back or seat supporting material anchored in said groove.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a chair according to the invention.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are vertical sectional views of a side member in the frame of the chair with two different embodiments of the attaching device.

FIG. 4 is a third embodiment of the attaching device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In FIG. 2 reference numeral 1 designates a section rail rectangular in cross-section and forming part of one side member in the frame of the chair. In the cavity 2 of the section rail 1 there is provided a relatively thick partition 3 which is provided with a recess 4 crosssectionally in the shape of a parallelogram and opening into the upper side 1A of the section rail. The recess 4 extends in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the section rail 1 and may also open into the ends of the section rail. The recess 4 is disposed in such a way that it will diverge outwardly, i.e. towards the left, in relation to the longitudinal middleplane of the seating furniture. A similar recess 4 provided at the opposite side of the seating furniture thus diverges towards the right in relation to the longitudinal middle plane of the piece of furniture.

In the recess 4 there is mounted an elongated rail 5 of resilient material having such a shape that it is complementary to the recess 4 and consequently fills it out so that its upper side 5A is in a plane with the upper side la of the section rail. The ledge 5 is of U-shaped cross-section having its open side located in the opening of the recess 4 in the upper side la of the section rail 1. The side members 6 of the ledge 5 are shaped in such a way as to form a relatively narrow slot 7 extending from the opening downwardly over an essential part of the depth of the U-shaped ledge and located in a plane which is parallel to the longitudinal middle plane of the recess 4 diverging outwardly. At its inner, i.e. lower, end the slot 7 is widened into a space 8. Both the slot 7 proper and the space 8 open into the two ends of the ledge 5. The side walls in the slot 7 proper are provided with flutes 9 extending in the longitudinal direction of the ledge 5.

The seat supporting elements of the piece of furniture consist, in the embodiment shown, of a fabric 10 of flexible material, e.g. tissue or plastic. The side marginal portion 11 of the fabric 10 is provided with a margin l2 thickened in a suitable manner, which may be manufactured for instance by welting so that its dimension in cross-section is larger than that of the slot 7. The fabric 10 proper should, however, only have such a thickness that after the ledge 5 has been withdrawn from the recess 4 it can be inserted from the end of the ledge 5 into, and become displaced to, a suitable position through the narrow slot 7, possibly overcoming a certain friction, the thicker margin'l2 being displaced in the space 8, whereupon the ledge '5 with the fabric 10 thus attached is reintroduced into its place in the recess 4. The fabric 10 will consequently be folded atan acute angle around the inner marginl3 of the recess4. When the fabric 10 is exposed to a load between the two side sections of the piece of furniture, a highly effective locking action is obtained, in that the thicker margin 12 from the space 8 cannot be pulled upwardly into the narrower slot 7, and the oblique surface of the ledge 5 is pressed fast against the opposite oblique surface in the recess 4, at the same time as the side members 6 of the resilient ledge 5 are compressed around the fabric 10 in the narrow slot 7. The longitudinal flutes 9 in the side walls of the slot 7 which engage with the fabric 10 in that connectionwill also contribute to the effective retaining action. I

The fabric 10 is kept tensioned by transverse members rigidly connecting the two side sections of the piece of furniture with each other. Such a transverse member may be of a kind known per se and may consist for instance of a screw sleeve having interior right-hand and left-hand threads, as well as screw spindles screwed into said sleeve and having right-hand and left-hand threads, respectively.

Instead of using a screw sleeve with screw spindles having right-hand and left-hand threads it is also possible to use a transverse member consisting-of parts telescopically engaging with each other. In FIG.'2 reference numeral 22 designates an outer sleeve which is provided with an axial slot 23 of a-limited length and starting from one end.To the slot 23 there are connected a number of short angular slots 24 in the embodiment shown three in numbers the outer portions of which start at right angles from the slot 23 and the inner portions of which extend towards the right in parallel with the slot 23. In the outer sleeve 22 (not shown) at the opposite side of the chair there extend the inner portions of the slots 24 in parallel with the respective main slot 23 but towards the left. Into the sleeve 22 there is insertable an inner portion 25 which is provided at some distance from its end with a radially projecting short pin 26 which can be inserted into the slots 23 and 24 of the sleeve 22. At its outer end the inner portion 25 is provided with a coaxially projecting pin 20 and a diametrically through slot 27 which is located in a plane displaced through 90 in relation to the pin 27 and extends from the inner end of the inner portion over a distance along said inner portion. Thus, the inner portion 25 may be introduced into the outer sleeve 22 with the pin 26 sliding in the slot 23, whereupon it is introduced through a through hole in the side wall 16 of the section rail 1 and is set with the pin 20 against one side of the partition 3 in the cavity 2 of the section rail in order to move apart the two side members of the chair and tension the fabric 10 between them sufficiently tightly. In order to be able to move apart the outer sleeve 22 and the inner sleeve 25 in a simple manner and without using tools, thus tensioning the seat support element 10 as well as 18 and 19, a wedge-shaped plate 28 can be driven into the through slot 27 of the inner sleeve 25. By means of the plate 28 the inner sleeve 25 can thereupon be turned so that the pin 26 is introduced into the outer portion of one of the angular slots 24, the tension in the stretched fabric entailing that the pin 26 will be automatically moved into engagement with the inner portion of the respective slot 24, whereby the side members of the chair are locked fast in their position with the fabric stretched tight between them.

FIG. 3 shows a different embodiment of the attaching device which is intended for seats provided with upholstery or padding material 17 located between an upper fabric layer 18 and a lower fabric layer 19. These are attached in the same way as described in connection with the preceding embodiment, although the slot 7 and the inner space 8 should of course have correspondingly larger dimensions in such a case. As it may be unsuitable in this case to introduce the two fabric layers 18 and 19 from above into the section rail 1, the recess 4 is disposed in such a way that it will open into the underside 1B of the section rail 1 but in this case, too, the recess diverges outwardly from the longitudinal middle plane of the piece of furniture. The two fabric layers 18 and 19 are laid around the upper and lower outer margins of the section rail 1 before being introduced into the slot 7.

In this embodiment, in which the pressure exerted on the ledge 5 when a load is applied to the fabric layers 18 and 19 is lower, the coaxial pin 20 is introduced through a through hole in one side of the partition 3 and rests against the ledge 5 so that the ledge and the fabric layers 18 and 19 introduced into it are held securely fast in the recess 4.

FIG. 4 shows a side member 31 having a recess 32 for a complementary ledge (not shown) of a modified shape and consisting of a central rectangular portion 32A and upper and lower parallelogramshaped portions 32B and 32C, respectively, which diverge outwardly in relation to the longitudinal middle plane of the seating furniture. Thus, a ledge inserted into the recess 32 is effectively locked against withdrawal at the two points 33 and 34.

It is evident that the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings are mere examples of suitable embodiments of the invention and that various modifications of the inventive idea are possible without exceeding the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Thus, the recess 4 may also be of rectangular crosssection in order to receive a cross-sectionally rectangular ledge having a slot diverging outwardly in relation to the longitudinal middle plane of the piece of furniture.

What we claim is:

1. An arrangement in seating furniture or seats for attaching flexible seat and back supporting elements, said furniture or seat including two frame or rail members forming opposite side portions of said seating furniture or seat, at least one recess in each of said frame or rail members, said recesses extending at least partially in the longitudinal direction of the said frame and rail members and opening into one of two opposite sides thereof, wherein a complementary ledge member is introducable into each of said recesses radially to the longitudinal axis thereof, a groove in said ledge member and extending in the longitudinal direction thereof in a plane diverging outwardly from the middle plane of said seating furniture or seat, a side marginal portion of a flexible back and seat supporting material anchored in said groove and means to increase the spacing between said side portions to put the flexible seat and back supporting elements under tension after anchoring said marginal portions in said grooves.

2. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ledge and the recess have a cross-section of parallelogram shape, and wherein the side walls of the recess diverge outwardly in relation to the longitudinal middle plane of the piece of furniture and the seat, respectively.

3. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ledge consists of resilient material.

4. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, including side members consisting of section rails or frames in which said recesses are provided in parallel with the longitudinal axis of the respective section and open into their upper or lower side, wherein the ledge is of U- shaped cross-section having its open side located in the opening of the recess and side members shaped in such a way that these will form between them a slot of uniform and relatively narrow width and extending from the open side over an essential part of the depth of the recess and being parallel with the longitudinal middle plane of the recess, said slot being adapted to receive said marginal portion and being widened at its inner end to form a space to receive a thickened margin of said marginal portion, said slot and space opening into the ends of the ledge.

5. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the side walls of the slot are provided with flutes extending in the longitudinal direction of the rail.

6. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, the sections being rigidly connected with each other through transverse elements of variable length, wherein there is provided in the cavity of the section rail a partition receiving the recess, and wherein said transverse element is introducible through an aperture in the side wall of the section rail and can be set against the partition with its end.

7. An arrangement as claimed in claim 6, having a recess opening into the underside of the section, wherein that side of the partition located next to the transverse element is provided with a through aperture coaxial with the transverse element and the aperture in the side wall of the section rail, and wherein the transverse element is provided at its end with a pin coaxial therewith and introducible into the aperture in the partition and adapted to be set against one side member of the ledge.

8. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, having a transverse element consisting of parts telescopically engaging with each other, wherein the outer portion is provided with an axial slot starting from one of its ends and being of limited length, to whose one side short angular slots are connected, and wherein the inner portion is provided on one hand with a diametrically through slot starting from its inner end and being of limited length and on the other with a radially projectgular cross section. 

1. An arrangement in seating furniture or seats for attaching flexible seat and back supporting elements, said furniture or seat including two frame or rail members forming opposite side portions of said seating furniture or seat, at least one recess in each of said frame or rail members, said recesses extending at least partially in the longitudinal direction of the said frame and rail members and opening into one of two opposite sides thereof, wherein a complementary ledge member is introducable into each of said recesses radially to the longitudinal axis thereof, a groove in said ledge member and extending in the longitudinal direction thereof in a plAne diverging outwardly from the middle plane of said seating furniture or seat, a side marginal portion of a flexible back and seat supporting material anchored in said groove and means to increase the spacing between said side portions to put the flexible seat and back supporting elements under tension after anchoring said marginal portions in said grooves.
 2. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ledge and the recess have a cross-section of parallelogram shape, and wherein the side walls of the recess diverge outwardly in relation to the longitudinal middle plane of the piece of furniture and the seat, respectively.
 3. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ledge consists of resilient material.
 4. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, including side members consisting of section rails or frames in which said recesses are provided in parallel with the longitudinal axis of the respective section and open into their upper or lower side, wherein the ledge is of U-shaped cross-section having its open side located in the opening of the recess and side members shaped in such a way that these will form between them a slot of uniform and relatively narrow width and extending from the open side over an essential part of the depth of the recess and being parallel with the longitudinal middle plane of the recess, said slot being adapted to receive said marginal portion and being widened at its inner end to form a space to receive a thickened margin of said marginal portion, said slot and space opening into the ends of the ledge.
 5. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the side walls of the slot are provided with flutes extending in the longitudinal direction of the rail.
 6. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, the sections being rigidly connected with each other through transverse elements of variable length, wherein there is provided in the cavity of the section rail a partition receiving the recess, and wherein said transverse element is introducible through an aperture in the side wall of the section rail and can be set against the partition with its end.
 7. An arrangement as claimed in claim 6, having a recess opening into the underside of the section, wherein that side of the partition located next to the transverse element is provided with a through aperture coaxial with the transverse element and the aperture in the side wall of the section rail, and wherein the transverse element is provided at its end with a pin coaxial therewith and introducible into the aperture in the partition and adapted to be set against one side member of the ledge.
 8. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, having a transverse element consisting of parts telescopically engaging with each other, wherein the outer portion is provided with an axial slot starting from one of its ends and being of limited length, to whose one side short angular slots are connected, and wherein the inner portion is provided on one hand with a diametrically through slot starting from its inner end and being of limited length and on the other with a radially projecting pin which is introducible into the slots of the outer portion and adjustable by means of a wedge which can be driven into the slot of the inner portion between the end thereof and the outer portion.
 9. An arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the recess and the ledge is defined by upper first portion and a lower second portion having a parallelogram shaped cross section diverging outwardly in relation to the longitudinal middle plan of the seating furniture or seat, and an intermediate third portion having a rectangular cross section. 